4 Ways To Slim Down In 2013

Are you trying to lose weight in 2013? Here are four scientifically proven ways to help you slim down:

After every workout, treat yourself to anything but food, like watch your favorite TV show. Dr. Timothy Church is the director of the laboratory of preventative medicine at Louisiana State University. And he says our natural inclination is to reward ourselves after a workout. But that usually means fries or candy, which wipes out any benefit from your efforts. In fact, studies show the longer we work out, the bigger the reward we think we should get. The fix? Swap food rewards for fun rewards. So, instead of getting a Big Mac, treat yourself to an iTunes download after you hit the gym.

Go to bed earlier! Studies show that willpower plummets the more tired you are. In fact, night owls eat nearly 250 extra calories a day, compared to people who go to bed early. That equals about 25 pounds a year! But the earlier you go to bed, the less time you’ll have to stay up and munch.

Then, be a stickler about calories! A lot of us shrug off a couple Hersey’s Kisses before bed as no big deal. But all those calorie splurges add up. So, next time you’re faced with a fatty food, pretend it’s a much bigger calorie bomb than it really is! A University of Texas study found that when people exaggerated the number of calories in a junk food, they were much less likely to eat it.

And, make “later” your new buzzword! A new study found that people who put off eating junk food were much more likely to never get around to eating it. Researchers explain that telling yourself “no” usually only makes your craving bigger. But if you tell yourself you’ll have it “later,” your brain’s desire weakens and as time goes on, you probably won’t want it at all.